Unit5.5Overview of Psychological Treatment Approaches

Psychosurgery

Involves the surgical alteration or destruction of specific brain areas believed to be linked to severe mental disorders.

Prefrontal Lobotomy

Severs connections between the frontal lobe and other brain regions to modify behavior or emotions.

Insight

Achieved when a person gains awareness of the underlying causes of their psychological issues, considered essential for healing.

Psychoanalysis

Focuses on unconscious conflicts by examining defense mechanisms such as repression and rationalization.

Dream Analysis

Explores unconscious material by interpreting content from sleep experiences.

Free Association

Encourages clients to share any thoughts that come to mind without censorship to uncover hidden associations.

Transference

Occurs when a client projects feelings from past relationships onto the therapist.

Counter-Transference

Happens when a therapist begins to project personal emotions onto the client.

Client-Centered Therapy

Promotes self-led healing through a therapist's open, honest, and supportive presence, emphasizing authenticity in interactions.

Unconditional Positive Regard

Involves accepting and valuing a client without judgment to foster self-worth.

Accurate Empathic Understanding

Describes a therapist's effort to perceive the client's experiences from the client's own point of view.

Gestalt Therapy

Encourages awareness of the present moment and one's own emotional experiences, including previously unconscious tensions.

Cognitive Therapy

Targets faulty thinking patterns and beliefs, particularly those formed by harmful cognitive schemas.

Negative Triad

Consists of pessimistic thoughts about the self, the world, and the future, often linked to depression.

Arbitrary Inference

Involves drawing conclusions without supporting evidence, often leading to distorted thinking.

Dichotomous Thinking

Sees experiences in black-and-white terms, without recognizing nuance or gray areas.

Rational-Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT)

Involves challenging and disputing irrational thoughts that lead to emotional distress in order to promote healthier beliefs and reactions.

Behavioral Therapy

Focuses on changing specific problematic behaviors rather than exploring deep psychological origins.

Counterconditioning

Replaces an unwanted response to a stimulus with a more desirable one using learned associations.

Aversion Therapy

Pairs an unpleasant stimulus with an unwanted behavior to discourage the behavior.

Systematic Desensitization

Involves gradual exposure to anxiety-provoking stimuli while practicing relaxation techniques to reduce fear responses.

Extinction Procedures

Reduce undesirable behaviors by eliminating the reinforcement that sustains them.

Flooding

Exposes individuals directly to intense versions of feared stimuli to diminish the fear response over time.

Implosion

Involves having individuals vividly imagine anxiety-inducing situations to weaken fear responses without real-life exposure.

Operant Conditioning

Modifies behavior using rewards or consequences based on the principles of reinforcement and punishment.

Behavioral Contracting

Establishes a written agreement outlining behavioral goals and corresponding rewards to reinforce positive actions.

Modeling

Uses observation and imitation of desirable behaviors followed by reinforcement to encourage similar actions in clients.

Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA)

Applies behavioral principles to improve communication, learning, and social behaviors, especially useful for developmental disorders.

Biofeedback

Teaches individuals to regulate involuntary bodily functions, such as heart rate or breathing, to manage stress or emotional symptoms.

Hypnosis

Induces a deeply relaxed state to enhance suggestibility, often used to treat pain or anxiety.